Announcing the birth of your child on social media

Giving birth is an exciting time, how should the birth be announced?

Twice this week I have seen a story about announcing a birth on Facebook.

The first was a story about a woman who found out her sister had given birth via Facebook. She wouldn’t have minded if she heard it from her sister, however she found out from her brother-in-laws work colleague. He had put a status on Facebook congratulating the new parents on the birth of their child.

Another example is a friend who is pregnant asked to be able to announce the pregnancy herself on Facebook. She politely asked people not to post on Facebook when she had given brith as she has waited 9 month to announce the birth herself. I can definitely see her point and I would be quite annoyed if someone had spoiled our announcement.

However, I have in the past wrote on friends walls once I found out they had given birth (after the public announcement) to congratulate them.

Is there need for some kind of social media birth announcement etiquette?

Have you ever accidentally announced a friend/family members birth?
Would you like to announce your child’s birth yourself or do you not mind?